UX and I
Ratheesh Nair
A few years back I was working with a product-based company that made mobile apps using different platforms like, say, EMP. That’s the Ericsson Mobile platform and is proprietary for all Sony phones. I would test those applications to check if the functionality works or not. Beyond that I didn’t bother with the usability factor.
And then, the smartphone arrived #
The smartphone evolved from small-screen phones manufactured by different brands. They came with limited options to access the internet, audio and video features, and different Mobile Operating Systems . This made developing an application for the mobile phone more complex, leaving little time to market the product itself.
First, what is a smartphone? #
Turns out, the actual definition, no matter the source, is quite vague. Merriam-Webster concisely calls a smartphone “a cell phone that includes additional software functions (as e-mail or an Internet browser).”
Oxford dictionaries, on the other hand, gets a little more precise by saying a smartphone “is able to perform many of the functions of a computer, typically having a relatively large screen and an operating system capable of running general-purpose applications.”
Smartphones evolved and people began using the new technology. It quickly created a certain degree of laziness as well as a greed for more upgrades. People were looking at this design and saying it looks great or terrible, or vetoing that app because it “doesn’t fit me”. Usability did not quite come into picture.
But psychology and design are inseparable. Design without knowledge about human beings is just a kingdom of chaotic expression. Design founded on a knowledge about human mind is a straight way to amazing products.
On the other hand, tech giants like Google and Apple were struggling to design simple software. Their main failing was not a bad design but the fact they did not cater to the demand of their users. It took them a little while to work this out. Once they started understanding their end-users, they came up with confident design.
What is UX? #
IA, UI, UX , USER Experience Design, Uxd, Customer Experience, CX, CXD ,LEAN UX and AGILE UX..blahh ..blahh.blahhh….
What do these words and acronyms mean? And, really, who cares?!
- None of them matter to me; I don’t worry about them. All I consider is:
- How do I talk to my end-user with a mobile app?
- How does my end-user feel when (s)he interacts with the product? Is s(he) pleased, elated, annoyed, bored, frustrated?
Nicholas Tenhue, UX designer at Orion Health, holds that UX design has probably been around for 3.3 million years. Ever since homohabilis began to make his first stone tool—a design that still exists today in the form of the handaxe or, maybe, the chainsaw.
User-experience is not just about making beautiful interfaces; it is a process of constant learning and validation of design decisions that deliver value to all stakeholders in the product ecosystem. The reality of UX design today is that our experiences with technology are becoming more and more seamlessly integrated into our lives.
How do you get into UX design? #
The UX job market is expanding rapidly. A good UX design is a fundamental requirement for any company that wants to stay relevant in the market and achieve their goals. Everyone from giants like Google to recently-founded startups are looking for user-experience (UX) experts to handle research, design, strategy, and engineering. Putting the opportunities and take-home numbers aside, start thinking about what makes a product or service successful.
If you are looking to become a UX guy, check if you possess these qualities:
- Are you passionate and self-motivated?
- Do you want to be the one who can analyze the needs of users and observe the different patterns in their behaviour.
- Do you have a vision and the courage to design something new? Creative designing that is a step ahead of others is the brilliant way to stand out in the UX crowd
- Have you the fire to learn new things and research the latest techniques and principles/
- Finally, are you able to recognise the need for change, keep thinking out of the box and be prepared to keep modifying your approach to satisfy the end-user?
If the answers to the above are positive, UX is your playground.
Ratheesh Nair is our UI-UX architect. He has an engineering degree in electronics and communications, and a decade’s worth of techno-functional experience in leading, managing, and executing multiple digital tech projects.